Nightmares
by bellydancer10
Summary: A deleted scene from the book. Nightmares bring Amari and Polly closer than ever... Rated T for adult themes.


**A/N: This wouldn't be my first Copper Sun fic, but my last one was a failure, so I deleted it. For some reason, I never seem to find the energy to write a fic about Copper Sun, so I decided to start small. A one-shot. I am currently working on a novel for Copper Sun, it is called The Battle of Fort Mose, and it is a sequel to the book, taking place in 1740, the year Fort Mose gets attacked by the British. You'll be able to know more about it once I upload it ;). Pretty much, I thought there was a deleted scene in between the whipping scene and the baby being born that made both Amari and Polly grow so close, and this is what I came up with.**

**Summary: A deleted scene from the book. Amari has a nightmare and Polly begins to understand her companion more with a nightmare of her own, and the two girls grow even closer.**

**Rated: T for adult themes such as crude words, sexual references, racist terms, and a non-detailed rape scene (which means the rape scene is not very detailed as most other people would, so it's not explicit)**

**Timeline: 18th century, 1738**

**Nothing in Copper Sun belongs to me, it all belongs to Sharon Draper. Enjoy the one-shot :)!**

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Polly was in her and Amari's shack with Amari, or Myna, as she was known to Polly, the both of them sleeping. Earlier before they went to sleep, Polly tried to get Amari to sleep on the hay-like mattress, but Amari refused, insisting that she was fine with sleeping on the floor. Polly was still worried about her, though, especially since it has been only three weeks since Mr. Derby whipped her and she was still healing, but Polly didn't want to push it, so she just pushed the worried thought aside and went to sleep.

She fell asleep immediately once she hit the mattress, feeling the labor of today's work weighing down on her, and she slept peacefully for three hours until she was woken up abruptly by a scream. Polly jumped and sat upright from her bed, looking down to find the scream had come from Amari. She was screaming and thrashing around in her sleep, making Polly realize that she was having a nightmare.

Immediately, Polly got up and tried to wake her up. "Myna, wake up!"

"_NO! NO, GET OFF OF ME!_" Amari screamed in her native language. "_AFI, HELP! HELP ME! HELP ME, AFI!_"

Polly did not know what Amari was saying, but she kept on hearing the word "Afi," making her wonder what the slave girl she was growing so fond and close to was talking about.

"Myna, wake up!" Polly said as she continued to try and wake up Amari.

Amari finally calmed down when she woke up. She looked confused for a minute as she took in her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was until she realized that she was in reality. She looked relieved to see Polly's worried expression instead of the sick, repulsive and gleeful faces of the white men on that awful ship; however, the dream brought bad memories and she broke down. She started crying, and Polly suddenly pulled the crying girl into a comforting hug.

It almost surprised Polly that she was giving Amari, a slave whom she hated before, comfort, but she had grown to know Amari so well throughout these past three months to consider her a friend. She remembered the first time Amari cried in front of her. It was three months ago at the market in Charles Town, and Polly did not bother to give her any comfort because of her belief of tears being a waste of time. However, Polly just knew that the comfort was needed this time.

She let Amari cry on her shoulder for she did not know how long, she just knew it was for a very long time. They stayed in the uncomfortable position for a while until Amari finally calmed down and pulled away.

"Thank you."

She turned around as if to go back to bed before Polly asked her a question.

"Myna, what happened?" she said. "What did you dream about? Who or what is 'Afi'?"

From what Polly could tell, Amari was giving her a saddened expression, not really sure why she was giving her such a look. It was a few minutes until Amari finally responded.

"No one important, just go to sleep."

Polly did not know why, but she somehow felt a little hurt that Amari could not tell her what it was that had scared her. She thought Amari was seeing her the way she saw her, but she supposed not. She tried to brush the feeling off, though, figuring it was probably just something Amari didn't want to talk about, and went back to sleep.

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><p>It was the next day, at least around noon, that Polly and Amari were back to work. Polly was outside, peeling potatoes and as she worked, she could feel Teenie's eyes watching her while Amari was inside the kitchen. Polly saw Clay, but she paid no attention to him as she continued peeling the potatoes until she suddenly heard a cry of despair from the kitchen.<p>

Stopping what she was doing, Polly turned to the kitchen where she saw Clay and Amari step out of the kitchen with Clay carrying a reluctant, but quiet Tidbit on his shoulder. As she watched them walk, she realized that the small group was heading towards the Ashley River, and Polly didn't have to put two together to figure out what was going on. Fear instantly went to her heart and she began to pray for Tidbit's safety. She would have gone after the group, but she did not think Clay would appreciate her going with them without his permission, so she had to hold the desire back; therefore, she continued working on her task. When she was finally done, she rushed back to the kitchen with the bucket of peeled potatoes where she saw a distressed Teenie.

"Teenie, what happened?" she asked. She probably already knew what happened, but she wanted to make sure.

"Massa Clay…he took my baby boy as gator bait," Teenie said.

At this, Polly's breath had hitched in her throat as her fear of Tidbit's safety became ten times worse than before.

"What? How long has it been?"

"At least an hour," Teenie answered. "I am worried, Miz Polly, I know Myna be with him, but I still be scared for my boy. What if he come back with missin' fingers?" Here, the tiny woman began crying, and Polly went up to her, giving the woman comfort, to which the latter gladly accepted.

"Myna is with him, she'll make sure nothing bad will happen to him," Polly tried to assure her, but even she didn't believe her own words.

"I am not interrupting anything, am I?" came a deep voice.

Both Polly and Teenie jumped at the voice and let go of each other when they realized the voice belonged to their master Clay Derby. He was giving them both a stern look that told them to take a step away from each other, and that is just what Polly and Teenie did. Clay looked satisfied after that.

It appeared that Clay was not alone, he had three young men that looked around his age with him and they appeared to be his friends. Teenie could not resist asking about Tidbit once she saw Clay.

"Massa Clay, please tell me, is my chile a'right?"

"I did not permit you to speak, Teenie," Clay snapped.

"Sorry, Massa Clay, I jus' wanna know if my baby boy be a'right," Teenie muttered, her eyes averted to the floor.

"Well, stop worrying about the little nigger brat and get to work!"

"Yes, sir," Teenie said as she did as she was told with a hint of a smoldering gaze in her eyes that did not go unnoticed by Polly. She saw her seethe with rage at the "little nigger brat" comment. She was about to mash the potatoes when Clay gave her a command.

"Fix my friends and I a drink, will you, Polly-girl?"

"Yes, sir," Polly muttered sullenly with gritted teeth, feeling herself get angry at the arrogant man using her father's pet name once again. She did as she was told, taking out a tray and placing four cups for the four young men and poured water in them. She served them all their drinks, really wanting to throw the drinks in their faces, but she became nervous when she served the young man in the black leather who was giving her a strange look.

"Who is this lovely creature?" the young man asked Clay, referring to Polly and making her blush. "Is this the indenture girl your father bought back in Charles Town?"

"Yes, her name is Polly."

"She is beautiful," the young man said, giving Polly such a gaze that made her shrink away from him.

"I would not even think about it, Jonathan, she is out of your league," Clay said in a tone that made him sound almost jealous. "She is pretty saucy when she wants to be."

"Well, I do like my women fiery," the boy named Jonathan said.

The conversation between the young men was making Polly uncomfortable, especially since the conversation was about her. She could practically feel every person's eyes on her, but she tried to ignore it. Suddenly, Polly yelped and jumped in the air when she felt a pinch on her buttocks, and she turned to see one of Clay's other friends, the one with the lace collar, had groped her and was smirking at her. He reached forward to do it again, but Polly swatted his hand away, giving him a ferocious glare, making the three young men laugh.

"You are right, Clay, she is fiery," the one who had groped her said.

Polly was furious at them for teasing her like that, but she was angrier at the fact that she was touched in such a way. How dare they! However, she was also a little scared because she didn't know how to make them stop without provoking Clay's ire, and it looked as if he was getting angry already. She looked to Teenie for help, but the latter just shook her head and went back to work, though she gave Polly a sympathetic and understanding look.

"You always seem to have the pretty servants," Jonathan said to Clay. "How did you get her?"

"My father was in the pub the night before the slave auction and he met this poor farmer scum who was complaining about his indenture servant," Clay explained, "said that keeping her was causing a lot of financial problems for him and his family. Father offered to take her indenture, and the scum gladly accepted. Father bought her indenture the next day and she has been with us ever since."

"How long is her indenture?"

"Fourteen years."

"And she is going to be working in _here_ throughout all of those years?" Jonathan asked in a shocking tone, referring to 'here' as in the kitchen.

"Maybe, father has not yet decided if she is going to stay in the kitchen or work in the household," Clay answered.

"You should put her to more useful work: in my sheets," Jonathan said. He and the other two young men laughed while Clay only seemed to get angrier as the grip on his cup tightened.

Polly mashed the potatoes even harder, feeling herself go red with fury at the vile man using such vulgar language towards her. She heard a few steps behind her and when she looked behind her, she found Jonathan too close to her for comfort with a smirk on his face that made her sick to her stomach.

"Why don't you come in the guest room with me? I'll put your _other_ talents in use," he said.

Polly knew what he was referring to by "other talents," and she could feel herself seething with rage as her arms shook with fury that she could not hold back a retort.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, sir, but if you want a whore, you would have to go to the whorehouse back in Charles Town," she snapped out.

All four men looked at Polly in shock, not believing that they just heard those vulgar words come out of a woman's mouth, but the tension was then lessened when Jonathan broke out into laughter.

"Oh, you really are fiery," he said. "Though your words did wound me in a way, I don't mind, I like my women to have a fire in them." He then leaned down and tried to give her a kiss, but Polly resisted and tried to push him away.

"Do not touch me!" she shouted as she fought against him. This seemed to only excite Jonathan more as he laughed and put his arms around her, enjoying her futile struggle, and tried to kiss her again. It was then that Clay finally intervened and pushed Jonathan away from Polly.

"That is enough!" he snapped at his friend. "She is my servant, I did not give you permission to touch her."

Polly looked at Clay in shock. He had never stood up for her in the past three months. It surprised her to see him do that since he acted like he didn't care for her, though she should probably feel grateful for it.

"Fist your slave girl and now your indentured servant girl? Come on, Clay, relax," Jonathan said exasperatedly. "You are not messing with this one, so why can't I have my fun with her?"

"Because she belongs to me and I do not want you touching her," Clay responded fiercely.

Polly felt like an item on display as they continued talking about her, making her feel awkward, especially with Clay stating that she belonged to him. Since when had he referred to her as his or indicated that she belonged to him? Wasn't it his father that bought her and not him?

"Fine, spoil my fun, why don't you?" Jonathan muttered.

"Come on, let's head back inside," Clay said. "Clean these up, Polly." He referred to the cups he and his friends drank out of before they all left. Polly let out a breath of relief once they did.

"Are you okay, chile?" Teenie asked immediately.

"I'm fine," Polly lied. It was apparent that she wasn't, she was shaking so much with fear as she thought of the possibility of what could have happened if Clay had not intervened. She just felt as if she was treated like a whore. She didn't understand why a man would touch her, a white woman, in such a way, she thought it was only black women that got treated that way.

It was then that Amari came into the kitchen with a safe and whole Tidbit in her arms. With a cry, Teenie stopped what she was doing and ran to her son. Amari passed Tidbit from her arms to his mother's who held onto him so tightly that she looked like she could crush him, giving him kisses all over. Tidbit did not complain, for he looked relieved to be in his mother's arms, and Polly could understand why. If she was used as gator bait…

Polly shivered. She didn't want to think about it, so she turned her attention to Amari. "Myna, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Amari replied, though it was obvious she wasn't. Polly didn't push it.

"Get back to work, the both of ye!" Teenie snapped at the two girls. "We wastin' time and the massas and missus need their dinner."

Polly and Amari did as they were told, and it was like that throughout the rest of the day until Amari got called by Clay again. Polly wanted to offer the girl comfort, but she knew it was no use. Teenie and Polly were cleaning the dishes when Teenie spoke up.

"Sumthin' on yer mind, chile," she said. It was a statement, not a question. "I can see it on yer face. Tell me, what be on yer mind?"

Polly sighed and said, "I am just wondering as to why…never mind, it is nothing important."

"It be important if it plague yer mind," Teenie responded. "Now, tell me."

"Okay," Polly said in defeat. "Last night, Myna had a nightmare. She kept on screaming in African, I am not sure what she was saying, but I kept on hearing the word 'Afi.' When I asked her about it, she turned me away as if she thought I wouldn't understand. Maybe she was right in doing that, maybe I truly don't understand her…"

"What do ya mean, chile?"

"I mean, like earlier today when that man touched me the way he did, I was so surprised. I have never been touched that way before, I almost felt as if I was in Amari's position and it felt strange because I thought it was only black women that got touched that way. And I just feel so guilty whenever she is called to the household, I don't comfort or try to protect her. I know I probably shouldn't feel this way, especially since I know that being called to the master's bedroom is normal, but I can't help feeling guilty, knowing that Myna hates it."

"Do not feel guilty 'bout not protectin' Myna, Miz Polly, she know she has to, she don't blame you," Teenie said. "She not like it, but she know the consequences of not obeying her massa's orders. And as for Mister Carter touchin' ya, that is not not normal, I have been through 'nuff in my life to know some things. I once knew an indentured gal who was the servant to my previous master 'fore Massa Derby, just a prutty young thing and 'bout your age too. My previous massa had a son, 'bout a few years older than Massa Clay, and he had a slave girl, but like all other massas, he got bored of her. He then turned his 'tention to that poor 'denture gal, raped her that night his papa sent that slave girl to the fields." There was a bitterness in Teenie's tone while Polly listened in horror, and Teenie continued, "The point is that it not matter if ya black or white, yer massas will jus' take whatever they think is theirs."

"What happened to the girl?"

"Dunno, my massa sold me to Mister Derby right after that, but all I knows is that that boy broke that poor girl's spirit, last I saw her."

"Do—Do you th-think that Clay would have allowed that boy to…to r-rape me?"

"Young Mister Carter? Nah, I don't think Massa Clay would've let him or anyone touch ya, he is very possessive of his things."

"His things?"

"Chile, have ya not noticed?" Teenie asked in astonishment.

"Noticed what?" Polly asked, completely confused.

"Massa Clay look at you the way he look at Miz Myna (1). Why do ya think he stop Mister Carter from kissin' ya?"

"But…he has Myna. He acts like he doesn't care about me, so why would he even care who touches me and who doesn't?"

"If he not care, then why he stop Mister Carter from kissin' ya?" Teenie challenged, making Polly stop and think that over real quick. If Clay really did not care for her, he would've just let Jonathan kiss her, but he seemed to care because he had intervened and prevented Jonathan from doing anything to her.

"Believe it or not, Miz Polly," Teenie continued, "Massa Clay will grow tire of Myna and the poor chile will get thrown to the fields, and Massa Clay may turn his 'tention to you."

Polly inhaled sharply. She didn't understand, she thought it was only the black women that were sent to the master's bedroom. "He can't do that, can he?"

The question was a hopeful one. Polly was hoping that she would hear the right answer, but the look on Teenie's face told her she wasn't.

"Miz Polly, it not matter if ya black or white, the massa can do whatever he wants wit' ya. He the massa, you the servant, he has that right," Teenie said. "If we show even a lil' resi'tance, he will whip us. Many o' the slaves 'ere feel poor Myna's pain and we wish te help, but she and the others know the consequences of resi'tin'. You be lucky you resi'ted 'gainst Mister Carter and Massa Clay step in, but if ya ever resi'ted 'gainst Massa Clay, he not hesitate to punish you."

Polly felt a fear grow into her heart as she thought what Teenie said. She did not want to imagine being in Amari's position with Clay's hands and eyes all over her, him touching her like that. It made her shiver to think of him doing that to her, and she tried to get the thought out of her head, but it was implanted there. It was times like these that Polly wished her father were here to protect her.

Teenie, sensing the girl's fear, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I not mean to scare ya, chile, I am jus' tellin' ya what is true," she said.

"I understand," Polly replied, though she wasn't really sure if she did.

"It be late," Teenie remarked as she and Polly looked outside the kitchen window, seeing how the sky was turning a darker shade of blue as the sun was setting. "Why don't ya go te bed and I deal wit' the rest?"

"No, I'll be fine," Polly insisted, not exactly sure why she refused the offer. She was just dying to sink into that mattress. Maybe it was because she would feel bad if she left Teenie with all this hard work. "Besides, you need help."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout me, chile, I can handle these dishes by myself."

"And by the time you are done, it will be so dark that you wouldn't be able to see a thing outside, I'm staying until we are done with this."

Teenie suddenly smiled. "Ya certainly have changed, Miz Polly," she said.

Polly smiled back, knowing she was referring to her previous thoughts about black people.

It was seven o'clock at night when Polly and Teenie were finished with their duties, and Polly went back to her shack, finding Amari was not there. '_Probably still with Clay_,' Polly thought as she shivered at the thought of what Clay was doing to her friend now. She fell asleep with her thoughts still on Amari and with that, she had a terrible dream…

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><p><em>Polly found herself in a room that was unfamiliar to her with expensive furnishing: a rug, a chair and couch with what looked like a coffee table on the left side of the room, a round table with chairs around it on the other side, red velvet curtains on the window, a wooden wardrobe, and a four-poster bed in the middle of the room against the wall with sheer curtains around it. Polly knew that she was in the Derby household, but she wasn't entirely sure where or which room she was in. Either in Mr. and Mrs. Derby's room or Clay's, it was hard to tell.<em>

_It was then that Polly noticed a figure in the room that she never noticed before, it was Amari. She was sitting on the couch and she had this guilty look on her face, making Polly wonder why she looked so guilty._

_"Myna, what's going on? Where are we?" she asked._

_Amari did not answer, she just continued to look at her with that guilty expression. It was then that Polly felt a presence behind her and she turned her head around just in time to see Clay wrap his arms around her. He started touching her in ways that surprised her, speaking lewd things in her ear that made her feel uncomfortable. It made her think he was playing some kind of sick joke on her._

_"Sir, please stop, you are making me uncomfortable," Polly said as she tried getting his hands off of her. Clay only seemed to tighten his hold on her when she did._

_"Why?" he said with a laugh. "I am here to take what is mine and you are here to obey me." He untied the strings of Polly's bonnet and pulled it off of her head, revealing her long, straight blonde hair. Here, Clay started running his hands through her hair then leaned down to inhale it._

_"Mm, you smell so good, Polly-girl," he whispered in her ear before moving her hair away from one side of her neck and leaned down to kiss it, "and taste good too."_

_Polly grimaced as she felt the man breathing down her neck, making her sick to her stomach. She tried to remain calm so as to not set off Clay's ire. However, when Clay's hands started untying the strings of her bodice, she started resisting._

_"No, let go of me!" she shouted as she tried getting out of his grasp._

_This seemed to set off Clay's ire because he slapped her, the force sending her to the ground; he then picked her up and dragged her to the bed, throwing her onto it. When Polly tried getting up, Clay pushed her back down and straddled her, pinning her arms down with his knees while he undid the strings of the bodice and tore it open._

_Polly started going wild after this as she realized that Clay's intention towards her was no joke and he was being serious. She started thrashing around, screaming and bucking, trying to get him off of her._

_"No, get off of me! Please don't do this! Let go of me!" she shouted. "Myna, help me!"_

_She tried reaching out to Amari, but the latter seemed to be not listening, or trying not to. She was on her knees on the floor with her hands enclosed over her ears as if trying to block out the screams with tears running down her cheeks. Polly felt hurt. Why wasn't she helping her? Why was she trying to ignore her? It was here that Clay suddenly laughed and grabbed Polly by the chin, forcing her to look at him in his lust-filled gray eyes that made her shiver._

_"She cannot help you, she is merely a slave and I am the master," he said. "You will submit to me and if you do not, you will find the punishment very severe for you."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Polly cried._

_"Because I am your master, I get to do whatever I want whenever I want with you," Clay responded with a sick smile. "And right now, I desire to have you."_

_"Please, don't do this…"_

_"Don't worry, I think you will find this experience quite pleasurable, my dear."_

_But Polly did not find it pleasurable at all; in fact, it hurt as he raped her and she begged him to stop, but he didn't listen. It was like he was deaf to her cries, and Polly eventually gave up, realizing that it was no use to fight against her master._

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><p>"NO!"<p>

Polly woke up with a start, sitting straight up in her bed before breathing a sigh of relief when she realized she was in the shack and not in Clay's bedroom with him and Amari. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest from her nightmare that it was hard to hear any of the night critters from outside. After her heartbeat had lessened, she tried to go back to sleep, but every time she would close her eyes, she would find herself looking into the dark eyes of Clay and seeing him rape her. The dream was so vivid to Polly, and it frightened her. And just hearing the words of what Teenie said earlier made her even more scared to know the possibility of _that_ happening to her.

"Polly?"

Polly jumped when she heard the sound of her own name being called, but she relaxed when she saw the familiar face of Amari.

"You had nightmare."

It wasn't a question. Polly sometimes hated it how Amari was able to read her like a book.

"I'm fine, Myna, it was just a nightmare," she insisted. "Go back to sleep."

Neither girl went back to sleep, though, and Amari got up from the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed. "What happen in dream?" she asked. It appeared that she was not going to let this go.

"I…I was r-raped…b-by Clay…" Polly began, making Amari give her a sympathetic, but understanding look. "Myna, I never knew what it felt like to be in your position, but in my dream, I suddenly felt as I understood you more…. I felt helpless against him, I tried fighting against him, but he was so much stronger and he…"

"He beat you for resisting?"

Polly nodded, feeling embarrassed for showing weakness, but Amari just gave her a look as if she understood, which she did.

"Clay is my massa, it sad what he does to me, but I do what he tells me, 'else I be punished," Amari responded. "I am the slave, he the massa, it is just the way it is."

"I wish there was something we could do about it."

"Can't do nothing, but hope."

Amari made to get up and go to her bed, but Polly stopped her. "Wait, can…. I mean, would you…would you sleep with me?" she asked. "My mama, she would normally sleep with me after I had a nightmare. It has always been a sense of comfort to me to have someone there with me, it makes me feel safe." Polly then suddenly laughed. "I know I probably sound childish right now, being scared of a silly thing as a nightmare, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's fine with me."

Polly almost expected for Amari to laugh at her for her wanting to sleep with her; instead, Amari gave Polly a sweet smile and said, "I'll sleep with you to keep nightmares at bay."

She signaled Polly to move over, and Polly scooted a little closer to the wall, giving Amari enough room on the mattress. Amari laid down on her back while Polly laid on her side, they both put their arms around each other with Polly laying her head on Amari's shoulder. Polly found it a little strange how she was letting a black girl, a person she was supposed to hate, sleep next to her and give her comfort, but she found herself not caring. Any comfort was better than no comfort at all.

"Myna?"

"Hmm?"

"I am sorry for misjudging you, you are a good person."

Polly did not see it, for her eyes were closed, but Amari gave her a grateful smile. "You too," she said. And the two girls fell asleep with Polly not having any more nightmares.

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><p>It was nearing dawn and everybody on the Derbyshire Plantation was still asleep, everybody except one. Clay Derby, who was already dressed for the day, was heading towards what looked like the slave quarters, and the slave quarters is exactly where he was going. He had to sneak out to do it, though, he knew his father would be furious with him for ever going there.<p>

For the past three months, ever since he had first gotten Myna, he had been visiting her and the indentured girl's shack almost every morning to check on Myna. Clay would be lying if he said he did not have any feelings for his slave because he did, he found her to be bright in her own way and beautiful; however, it was not as if he was in love with her or anything, she was just something to receive affection from. Lord knows that affection for Clay Derby was hard to come by, especially with a father who is so love-sick over his unfaithful-wife.

Clay's father was not a very affectionate man, he was always so hard and stern. Whenever he did show affection, it was always towards women. Although the elder Derby often said he was proud of his son and showed it, Clay sometimes wished his father would show affection to him. It was the reason why he liked Myna, she was the only affection he could get around here.

He came to Myna and Polly's shack and when he quietly opened the door, he was greeted by a sight that left him stunned. He had to blink twice just to make sure what he was seeing was real. Instead of lying on the floor like she usually did, Myna was sleeping on the mattress with Polly, but what surprised Clay even more was the fact they were sleeping _together_ and how intimate they looked.

With Polly sleeping on her side, she had one arm wrapped around Myna's waist and her head lying on her chest that was moving up and down from breathing. Myna, meanwhile, had her left arm tucked under Polly's neck and her hand on the girl's shoulder while the other arm was overlapping the white girl's arm, and she had her chin placed on top of Polly's head. Clay should have known that Polly was growing close to the slaves, what with what he saw in the kitchen with the way Polly and Teenie were holding each other, but was she really getting _that_ close to them?

He didn't think it would be possible for a black and white girl to grow so intimate with each other, his father always told him that whites and blacks were never to be friends or be together. The blacks were to remain as slaves and the whites as the masters, nothing more. Clay supposed with Polly, she was different since she was poor and belonged to his father, but he still found it unnatural to find a black and white girl showing such affection towards each other. He kept on watching the two girls sleep, seeing how both of their chests rise and fall. Clay couldn't help thinking how serene they looked just by sleeping with each other and he started wondering what it would be like if he got the two of them together in his room.

Clay had to admit it, Polly was a very attractive girl—a beautiful girl, just like Myna, in fact. He also found her to be bright in her own way too, and her saucy mouth was something he could get used to. He wouldn't mind taking her to his bed, if his father would allow it, but the latter is what prevented Clay from doing so. Percival Derby would not be happy with his son touching something that belonged to him; plus, the indentured girl made it obvious she did not like Clay, especially with him calling her "Polly-girl." He found it comical the first time he called her that, the look she gave him just told him that she did not like it when he called her that, and he kept on calling her that just the sake of riling her up. If Clay ever had his way, he would just take the white girl to his room and fuck her senseless.

He stayed in the shack for a little while, watching the two girls just sleep, finding peace within himself as he did, running his fingers through Polly's hair and caressing Myna's face lightly once in a while, until the sun started rising and he started heading back. He pushed all affectionate thoughts aside and became the son the elder Derby always wanted.

'_Maybe I should try to convince father about Miss Pritchard working in the household_,' Clay thought as he gave the two girls one last look. Just something about the two of them together as friends was unnatural, and his father needed to take action soon.

* * *

><p><strong>(1) Okay, I may be the only person that felt this way, but I think to a certain extent Clay might have liked Polly. I just got a feeling from the way he reacted around her, but if he did, I don't think he would've liked her the way he liked Amari. I could be wrong, but this is just a fanfiction, you get to do whatever you want on here.<strong>

**Hope you liked the one-shot. I decided to put Clay's thoughts in there in the last scene, you never get so much of his side and what he went through. And before you ask, yes, Polly is my favorite character, I love her fiery character, it's really awesome ;D. Thanks for the reading, a review would be nice, but I don't care, you can just put it in your favorites if ya like :).**


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